Child is Father to the Man ~ Philip Brent Harris

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Who will we be if we fail to remember
The evil we have committed over time?
That’s not us we say, but we’re wrong.
Angry mob descended from kidnappers
Angry mob descended from murderers.
A people who thought slavery their due.
A people who knew genocide their right.
A people who turn a blind eye, because
They will not admit their fear and guilt.

Not all of us will take the streets, even
Though some people label us cowards.
How can we explain our health our fear
To a 75-year-old with a fractured skull,
To men who died saying, I can’t breathe,
To women who were shot asleep in bed,
To all who fear to walk down the street,
Any routine traffic stop, going outside.
Who will we be if we fail to remember?

Ours ever the history of masters, bosses
With whips and chains and no deterrent
To rape at will and kill without reason.
To attest that we own you and control
All aspects of your lives now, forever.
Despite so-called emancipation, rights
Offered, which should have been yours
Because you’re a member of humanity.
So hatred and discrimination continue.

Who will we be if we fail to remember
The evil we have committed over time?
We cannot deny a past that led to now.
These crimes are still ours when we fail
To raise our voices, fail to raise children
To know that all people are all one race,
To fail to call murder, murder each time,
To fail to see racism as racism, because
It is who we are, if we fail to remember.

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Peace is Purpose, Nonviolence is Strength, Diversity is Unity, Empathy is Empowerment

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